1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of foosball, and more particularly to a foosball foot having a convex profile in the center region of the front side of the foot, and a generally straight profile on the end regions of the front side of the foot.
2. Background Art
There are two basic shapes for the front face of the foot of a foosball man—a convex profile and a generally straight profile. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in trapping, controlling, passing, angling, and shooting the ball.
The convex shape offers the player greater control in handling the ball to trap and control it, and to pass or shoot the ball straight forward. The convex profile of the foot portion of the man allows a great range of rotational angles in which the foot can press the ball into the play field and hold it in place. It also provides a greater range in the rotational direction at which the foot may slightly hit the ball to propel it forward.
The convex profile is poor, however, when hitting the ball on the edge of the man when shooting the ball at an angle, including a bank shot off the side wall. The reason for this lack of control is that at different relative angular positions at which the foot hits the ball, the angle that the ball is propelled varies, leaving a very small range of accuracy. This problem is exacerbated by the convex shape causing unpredictable spin on the ball, which affects its trajectory. In addition to hampering a player from hitting an angled shot with accuracy—such as from the side of the table to the center of the goal—the small range of accuracy makes it particularly difficult to hit a bank shot, risking missing the goal or more often being blocked by a defender.
An example of a convex-shaped foot is described in McCloud, U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,864, issued Aug. 2, 1994. McCloud shows a generally flat plane across the top portion of the forward face of the foot, and a convex shape or profile towards the lower portion. This presents a problem where some rotational positions uses the convex portion, and others use the straight portion, providing poor and inconsistent control for both straight and angled shots. As explained above, the convex outer portion of the foot makes hitting angled shots inconsistent and difficult to control.
The relatively straight profile of the foot avoids the problem the convex profile has in hitting angled and bank shots because the straight edge provides a more consistent angle of impact with the ball at different positions along the impact range of the foot in the rotational dimension. It also maintains a consistent side spin on the ball. This improves control in hitting an angled or bank shot that passes around or between the defender's men and into the goal. However, the straight edge provides far less control in holding the ball in place and hitting and passing the ball forward than the convex profile. Because the straight foot profile has a much smaller rotational range than the convex profile, it has less controllable surface area and does not allow the control that a convex surface allows.
An example of the straight-edge design is shown in Furr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,378, issued Sep. 6, 1977. As shown in FIG. 1 of Furr, to achieve a near vertical force vector from the foot through the ball onto the playfield, the foosball man needs to be positioned at an angle closer to parallel to the playfield than perpendicular. While not shown directly in the drawings, it is clear that if the foosball man is closer to perpendicular, the force vector is directed more forward, that is, in the horizontal axis, pushing the ball away from the foot instead of trapping and controlling the ball. There is a relatively small range of angles that permit control of the ball, leaving a small margin of error in trapping, controlling the ball, and passing.
Various designs can adjust the convex profile to be less radiused, thereby trying to allow more control for angled and bank shots at the expense of less control of controlling, hitting, and passing the ball. Compromises can be made in this fashion, but the best that can be achieved is mediocre control of angled and bank shots, loss of some control of straight shots, and inconsistent passing.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to design a foot profile that incorporates the advantages of each of the convex and straight profile of the foosball foot.